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Category
Stunts & Activations
Annual ID
OS22_SM032B
About the Work
Founded in 1969, Wendy’s set out on differentiating in the fast food industry by doing things that consumers could love, and doing them the right way. Wendy’s was the newcomer fast food challenger with charm. However, 50 years later most Americans view us the same way as other traditional fast food brands.
How might we make America fall in love with Wendy’s again?
Well in order to get love, you must give love. There are songs and self-help books about it. We all crave appreciation and affirmation.
When Americans want to show love and appreciation, we create holidays. Either traditional like Valentine’s Day, less traditional like Thank a Mail Carrier Day, or informal like a Friendaversary. Holidays are how we show we care.
So creating a holiday to show America love was the perfect idea.
But what if we showed our love differently by roasting America? Almost paradoxically we roast the ones we love. It’s a sign of closeness and endearment. And people love Wendy’s roasts.
If Valentine’s Day is devoted to momentous displays of love and affection, then National Roast Day will be Wendy’s way of showing love and affection: by roasting anyone who asks.
Global brands, regular people, bands, professional sports teams, celebrities, nobodies, celebrity nobodies (aka influencers), and even more brands all lined up to be roasted. They knowingly asked for a takedown and then shared it as a point of pride.
#NationalRoastDay was so talked about it organically became a trending topic on Twitter and increased mentions of Wendy’s by 1,224%. We generated more than 30 million organic Twitter impressions and more than 130 million earned media impressions in a matter of hours. It even spread to other platforms as TikTok driving more than 10.5 million views of #NationalRoastDay.
How might we make America fall in love with Wendy’s again?
Well in order to get love, you must give love. There are songs and self-help books about it. We all crave appreciation and affirmation.
When Americans want to show love and appreciation, we create holidays. Either traditional like Valentine’s Day, less traditional like Thank a Mail Carrier Day, or informal like a Friendaversary. Holidays are how we show we care.
So creating a holiday to show America love was the perfect idea.
But what if we showed our love differently by roasting America? Almost paradoxically we roast the ones we love. It’s a sign of closeness and endearment. And people love Wendy’s roasts.
If Valentine’s Day is devoted to momentous displays of love and affection, then National Roast Day will be Wendy’s way of showing love and affection: by roasting anyone who asks.
Global brands, regular people, bands, professional sports teams, celebrities, nobodies, celebrity nobodies (aka influencers), and even more brands all lined up to be roasted. They knowingly asked for a takedown and then shared it as a point of pride.
#NationalRoastDay was so talked about it organically became a trending topic on Twitter and increased mentions of Wendy’s by 1,224%. We generated more than 30 million organic Twitter impressions and more than 130 million earned media impressions in a matter of hours. It even spread to other platforms as TikTok driving more than 10.5 million views of #NationalRoastDay.
2022 Awards
Total Points: 9
Bronze Pencil
Credits
Agency
VMLY&R / Kansas City
PR / Marketing Agency
Ketchum / Chicago
Client / Brand
Wendy's / Dublin
Media Distribution Company
Spark Foundry / New York
Copywriter
Emily Friedman
Chief Creative Officer
Noel Cottrell
Chief Marketing Officer
Carl Loredo
Creative Director
Conor Clarke
Matt Keck
Sarah Weigl
Executive Creative Director
McKay Hathaway
Account Supervisor
Paulina Chronis
Associate Creative Director
Ben Conaghan
Che Suryakumar
Katie Mylrea
Meredith Young
Global Chief Creative Officer
Debbi Vandeven
Senior Art Director
Ann Putney
Senior Copywriter
Brian Bockelman
Account Manager
Adam Scherzer
Associate Connections Director, Social
Samantha Schuster
Associate Connections Manager
Lawrence Brown
Associate Copywriter
Katy Lowe
Associate Director, Client Engagement
Colin Belmont
Associate Director, Content
Victor Thai
Associate Director, Search & Social
Cris Stephan
Chief Client Officer, North America
Jennifer McDonald
Chief Creative Officer, North America
John Godsey
Connections Supervisor, Social
Jessica Wiggins Unverferth
Director, Content
Jennifer Rodriguez
Director, Strategic Brand Communications
Frank Vamos
Manager, Innovation & Data
Jeremy Cline
Manager, Social Media & Gaming
Kristin Tormey
Managing Account Supervisor
Kelsey McGovern
Managing Director, Client Engagement
Jason Bass
Kelly Gartenmayer
Managing Director, Strategy & Insights
Bret Smith
Senior Analyst, Innovation & Data
Carolina Mach
Senior Campaign Program Manager
Laura Picicci Meyer
Senior Connections Manager
Emmy Hanlon
Senior Vice President
Emily Kooistra
Senior Vice President, Group Director
Ryan Kefer
Vice President, Media & Social
Jimmy Bennett
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